HAMMOND, Ind., Dec. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Specialty Steel Works Incorporated (“SSWI”) today announced leadership changes to drive enhancements to the customer experience and achieve operational excellence across every business segment. “As we execute our strategy to create a manufacturing platform that is best in class as North America’s leading manufacturer of innovative solutions of specialty steel products, we will continue to reshape the organization to deliver the most value for our customers and stakeholders,” said Joel Hawthorne, Chief Executive Officer of SSWI.

Building on the Company’s previously announced multi-million-dollar commitment to transform the Niagara LaSalle Hammond facility into the most modern bar-to-bar operation in North America, Ron Kostyo has been appointed General Manager Niagara LaSalle – Hammond. Ron has over 30 years of steel industry experience in a variety of increasingly responsible capacities. He began his career at Inland Steel (now Arcelor Mittal). While at Arcelor Mittal he worked in the capacity of Technology Manager and later as Division Manager of Steel Producing. At Severstal North America he worked as Division Manager of Steelmaking and later Vice President and General Manager of Operations. Most recently, at U.S. Steel he served as General Manager of Automotive Operations. Ron’s industry experience is further evidenced by the articles he has written and his participation in forums on various steelmaking subjects. Michael Salamon, SSWI President and Chief Operating Officer stated, “Ron is an industry veteran and a proven leader. I am confident in his ability to continue our efforts to drive safety improvement, enhance operational capabilities, and strengthen Hammond’s position as the premier bar-to-bar operation in North America.”

To further advance the Company’s vision and strategy to become North America’s leading independent manufacturer of innovative solutions of specialty steel products, Brian Fudacz has been appointed General Manager – Quality Assurance & Customer Technical Services. In this newly created position, Brian will be responsible across the Company’s Cold Finish Steel Bar (“CFSB”) business segment for quality assurance, customer technical services, and continuous improvement. This position will focus on improved integration of important enterprise functions that create value for customers, drive engagement of every employee to enhance the customer experience, and facilitate execution of the SSWI strategy. Since joining Niagara LaSalle in 1995, Brian has amassed CFSB experience in key sales, marketing and operations positions, most recently as the General Manager of the Hammond facility. “In this role, Brian will be responsible for driving quality processes and continuous improvement across our CFSB business. His engineering background and his broad CFSB industry experience make him particularly well-suited for this position and these new responsibilities,” said Salamon. “The leadership changes we are announcing today will help us to build on our success and continue to achieve excellence in every aspect of our business,” Salamon added.

About Specialty Steel Works Incorporated Specialty Steel Works Incorporated (“SSWI”), headquartered in Hammond, IN, is North America’s leading manufacturer and processor of value-added specialized steel products including high-quality engineered cold finish steel bars (“CFSB”) and precision-tolerance, cold drawn seamless tubes. SSWI operates under three wholly owned subsidiaries (i) Niagara LaSalle Corporation, (ii) Corey Steel Company and (iii) Michigan Seamless Tube. Our specialty steel processing business is operated out of six strategically located production facilities in the Midwest with a combined annual capacity to produce 680,000 tons of CFSB and up to 55,000 tons of seamless tube. SSWI’s products comprise the broadest specialty steel offering in the industry and are engineered to meet specific customer demands for critical applications across diversified end markets.